


The Savior's Demise

by xcarterxxrosex



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Altered canon, Dark! Apollo, Dark! Nico di Angelo, Dark! Percy Jackson, Post-Canon, Traitor! Apollo, Traitor! Nico di Angelo, Traitor! Percy Jackson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29342208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xcarterxxrosex/pseuds/xcarterxxrosex
Summary: The gods, a very slight majority of them, have decided Percy Jackson is too powerful to remain alive. With the help of Apollo, the son of Poseidon is able to escape Olympus before his life was cut short.Apollo is pissed. His father had already crossed a line upon removing his godhood and only returning it a month ago. This was the end of the God of Medicine. The God of Plagues is ready to help Percy get revenge, even if the son of Poseidon isn't ready to get it.With the help of his friends, Percy's loyalty to the gods will be broken, and the attempt to destroy Olympus will commence.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Solangelo - Relationship, percabeth - Relationship
Comments: 31
Kudos: 87





	1. Prologue

To be honest, Percy Jackson nor his friends had ever seen this day coming. He was the Savior of Olympus. He'd earned this title, not once, but twice, proving his loyalty to his father and the other Olympians countless times. Instead of getting rewarded for his sacrifices, though, he was destined to die.

He probably should have assumed the worst when being summoned to the Olympian's throne room, but he chose to go, anyways. After a long day of hanging out with his mom, stepfather, and baby sister, he'd double checked that his sword, Riptide, was in his pants' pocket before heading out. He hailed a cab to the Empire State Building, and when he got there, made his way towards the front desk. 

"Floor?" the doorman grunted, asking him as soon as he stepped through the door.

"I need to visit the 600th floor, please," Percy requested, preparing to argue with the poor man.

Instead of putting up a fight like everyone else did, he reached for something behind his desk and pulled out the key that allowed demigods up to Olympus. He regarded him with a confused expression, but he took it from him before he decided to change his mind. As he made his way towards the elevator, he thought he could see the concerned expression on the guy's face. It honestly made him a little worried, but he chose to keep going. The gods probably knew he was on his way. They'd be pissed if he turned back now.

The second he stepped out into the home of the gods, he knew something was wrong. The nymphs were trying to hide their panicked looks, but Percy could see each and every one of them. He quickened his pace until he made it into the throne room, not wanting to see those looks anymore. 

"Ah, Perseus Jackson, I see you have finally decided to join us," Zeus drawled, obviously unimpressed with his timeliness. 

"There weren't any times on the invitation, Lord Zeus," he said sarcastically. "I figured I could come as soon as I pleased.”

He scoffed a little, but he didn't say anything else. Instead, he turned to look at the rest of the Olympians. He seemed to be having a silent conversation with everyone in the room, and Percy started to really wonder why he'd been asked to come here. With all the looks he'd been given by everyone around him and the secrecy of the meeting at hand, he was starting to get curious and slightly nervous.

_ Percy, run as soon as I tell you to. Zeus hasn't told everyone why you're here, and we're pretty sure it's not anything good. _

Percy furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced in the direction of Apollo, trying to hide the fact that the god wasn't inside his head as soon as he saw the fake bored expression on his face. He took the look on his face as a sign to look at the rest of the Olympians. There were a few of them that had a similar look as everyone else he'd encountered, but there were also a few people that looked happy and almost relieved. Percy wanted to ask what was going on, but Zeus beat him to it when he blurted out his next words. 

"All in favor of Percy Jackson being killed before he tries to take over the Olympus?" 

There was a sudden uproar among the gathered gods, and Percy felt his eyes widen. He couldn't believe the words coming out of his uncle's mouth. He had never done anything bad against the gods. In fact, he'd saved their asses more times than he could count on one hand. His fatal flaw was loyalty, for gods' sake! He'd die before he allowed himself to betray his stupid, godly family. Sure, he talked crap sometimes, but he would never  _ actually  _ do anything. 

"Why the hell would the gods vote against me?" Percy asked slowly. 

There was a moment of silence as soon as he asked it, and he started to realize why only a few of the gods looked confused. Zeus knew which gods would actually attempt to take him out, and he had only told them. His father, Apollo, Artemis, and Hermes had been the only gods fighting for him. Aphrodite and Hephaestus looked bored and ready to leave while everyone looked smug. He took a panicked step back. 

He listened to Zeus repeat the question before watching multiple gods raise their hands. He couldn't believe that the gods he'd fought for would ever consider letting him die at their hands. There were six gods voting for his death. He took a deep breath before glancing at Apollo again. The god looked ready to kill someone. 

"Who here would vote to allow Perseus Jackson to live," Zeus called out.

Much to Percy's horror, only four of the six remaining gods raised their hands. Aphrodite and Hephaestus had decided to remain neutral, and he would die because of it. As soon as Zeus realized this, he raised his hand, and Percy noticed some people coming towards him in his peripheral vision. He gulped a little and started to take a step back.

"Percy,  _ go _ !"

He looked up at Apollo as soon as the Sun God yelled, and after a second of brief panic, he did as he was told. He turned on the ball of his foot and sprinted towards the entrance of the throne room. He could hear Zeus yelling for the other gods to catch him, but he was moving too fast for them to catch up. 

Apollo was the only one smart enough to teleport towards him, but he was also on the run from the king of the gods. With one quick motion, Apollo grabbed the son of Poseidon by the torso, and they both disappeared into thin air. When they reappeared, the two of them were no longer on Olympus. It took him a moment to realize where they were, but when he realized they were on Delphi, he relaxed.

"Why are you helping me...?" he asked slowly.

"You don't deserve to die," the god said angrily. "I knew something bad was going to happen the second Zeus called the meeting.”

Percy had never seen the god this angry before. He supposed it made sense, though. The god hadn't been back on Olympus for more than a month since his father had taken his powers and stripped him of his godhood, and now he was being dumb and trying to take out their hero. He plopped down on the ground and hid his face. 

"I can't hide here forever," he sighed, looking up at the god.

"You're gonna have to hide here until Zeus gets his head out of his ass," Apollo corrected him. "I'm going to contact your friends and Annabeth. If they want to come and see you, Nico'll have to bring them here."

Percy nodded slowly, letting the god boss him around and do whatever he pleased. He was technically on death's row, and if he wanted to survive, he had no choice. He sat there as the god walked away.

Apollo didn't go far, choosing to make an Iris Message in a small waterfall near the edge of the water. Percy slowly looked up and watched him. He ended up calling Nico instead of Annabeth, but he figured the only way for them to get there would be the son of Hades. He knew Nico would tell them everything going on, too. 

He watched him grow angry, and within seconds of Apollo telling Nico everything going on, the Iris Message was cut short. Percy tilted his head in confusion. The two of them didn't have to worry about it for long, as Nico, Will, Clarisse, and the rest of seven suddenly appeared on the island. Apollo quickly reached out at the same time his son did, catching the son of Hades as he fainted. They moved to the side to hug him just as Annabeth surged forward to give him a tight hug.

"We'll figure this out, Percy," she said softly. "The gods will not get away with this."

Percy knew he looked doubtful, but the others knew everything in his life had just gone wrong. Apollo was going to be in serious trouble, this time for running, and Percy would be executed as soon as the gods got their hands on him. He was putting his friends in danger by having them here, but to be honest, he was so thankful they'd come despite that. 

He took a deep breath and glanced over at Nico who was finally coming to with the help of Apollo and Will. Percy moved to stand up, walking over to his friend. He knelt down beside him, letting Annabeth wrap her arms around his shoulders.

"Thanks for bringing everyone here, di Angelo," he said quietly. "I appreciate it." 

The son of Hades went to sit up, and he did so with the help of everyone surrounding him. He leaned against Will's touch before facing Percy. His friends let him finish coming around, and when he did, he looked at Percy.

"You don't deserve to be alone, Percy," he said seriously. "We're going to help you get through this, and we aren't going to let the gods get away with this."

"How the hell are we going to do that?" Percy sighed. 

"You've saved our asses, twice, Jackson," Apollo nudged him. "You're the last person they should be punishing. They're just scared that you're going to do something to them. You're almost as powerful as a minor god, and the more you train, the stronger you're going to get." 

Nico nodded in agreement, and when Percy looked around, he could see the rest of them doing the same. When he looked close enough, he could see the anger on their faces, too. He let out a sigh. 

"We can't do anything about it," Percy shrugged. "I'm gonna be stuck here until Zeus forgets about me."

" _ No _ , Percy," Nico looked at him seriously. "We  _ can _ do something. We can do something just like Luke did something."

"That'll just prove I'm the bad guy like they think I'll become!" Percy started to argue. "They want to kill me in case I become powerful enough to defeat them, and if I end up being the bad guy, they'll try to kill me faster!"

Nico groaned and facepalmed, looking at Annabeth and Apollo. They seemed to have a silent conversation with one another, and it made Percy furrow his eyebrows. He didn't have to worry about it for long, though. Nico looked him dead in the eyes. 

"Percy, you've become loyal to the wrong people," he reached out and took his shoulders. "Your fatal flaw will actually get you killed if you choose to do nothing about it. We need to get rid of the gods trying to kill you."


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so so much for all the positive feedback on the Prologue! I was going to wait a couple weeks until I posted the second part, but I didn't want to make you wait! I hope you enjoy!

Percy had spent the last week listening to his friends making plans against the gods, and it was making it really hard to figure out which side of the upcoming war he should take. He wasn't dumb. Whenever someone decided to revolt against the Olympians, there was a war of some kind, and this time wasn't going to be any different. Annabeth wasn't just talking to Nico about storming the Olympian's Throne Room just to give Zeus a stern talking to. They were planning an attack.

Apollo was staying out of it, but Percy could tell the god was still incredibly angry. Percy knew it was reasonable anger, though. His father had kicked him out of Olympus for dumb reasons, and he was being stupid all over again. He sighed and stood up. 

"Guys," he said as he walked over to the scheming group. "We don't have to-"

"Percy," Nico sighed. "The gods want to kill you. We're trying to save you. If you're not going to join us, you're on the wrong side. There are so many campers that are completely done with the gods shit, and the second they realize they went after the leader of their camp, they'll help us take them down, too."

Percy groaned a little as he walked away. They'd been having this conversation - argument, whatever you wanted to call it - since they'd all decided to stay on the Island of Delphi with Percy and Apollo. They wanted to take over, just as Luke had done just over a year ago, and Percy didn't think it was necessary. He knew the gods could be absolute dickheads, but he didn't think they completely needed to be replaced or killed.

It didn't matter what he said to them. They weren't listening to him! There were still gods on Olympus that were on his side! Yeah, his friends were right about the fact that there weren't many, but there were enough that killing every god was pointless and dumb. He would never be able to live with himself if someone innocent in the situation got hurt because of him.

As he silently complained to himself, the scent of salt water filled the air. He glanced over his shoulder just as the god of the sea moved to approach him. He gave him a wary look. Poseidon had been one of the four people that had wanted to keep him alive, but there was no proof that Zeus hadn't threatened him with compliance and forced him to retrieve his son.

"You're not gonna take me to Olympus, are you?" he asked slowly.

"Of course not, Percy," he responded, looking almost offended that his son would even consider him doing something like that. "I'm just here to check on you. Other than Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, and I are the only gods that know you're here, and we've all sworn on the River Styx not to disclose that information to anyone outside of our little group."

Percy relaxed a little at the genuine statement. Of course, the gods were known to break their oaths, but it usually took them a few years, so he had a feeling he was safe for a while. His father moved to offer him a comforting hug, and he decided it truly wouldn't hurt to take it. He practically collapsed into his arms. As long as there were people in power on his side, he could handle staying neutral in everything that happened. It felt weird to even think about not fighting for the gods since it had practically been his job since he was twelve, but he still didn't think he could ever fight against them. Poseidon gave a small smile and gently finished wrapping his arms around his son.

"Does my mom and Paul know I'm okay?" Percy asked his dad as soon as they pulled away from one another.

"They do," he said softly. "I told them you were with Apollo as soon as I could get away from Zeus. I saw you disappear with him, and he obviously hasn't returned to Olympus, so I figured the two of you were together. When Apollo told us where you were, I went back to reassure them how safe you really are. They don't know where you are, as that could put them in danger, but they know you're okay."

There seemed to be a weight lifted off his shoulder as he realized they probably weren't worrying about him as much as they had been when he'd disappeared because of Hera. Since there were gods around that were willing to keep them updated, he could actually stop trying to figure out how to prove to them he was alright. He wondered if Hermes would be willing to send messages between the three of them since he couldn't really contact them on his own. 

He decided he would ask the god about it later on if he ever came to visit, too. He would have asked his dad to bring it up for him, but his friends were suddenly gathered around him protectively. When he looked out into the ocean, he could see why. There was someone coming towards the island. 

Poseidon glared in that direction, and Percy wondered if he would be witnessing a shipwreck today. He tried to get out of his friends’ protective trap, but they were too focused on making sure he wouldn't get hurt that they didn't let him move much. He gave a loud sigh and waited for the random stranger to appear. Since even his father was looking worried, he assumed the god of the sea didn't know who was traveling towards them.

Much to everyone's surprise, Hades, Persephone, and Hestia stepped out of the boat. It kind of made Percy nervous that there were other people that probably knew where to find him. The two goddesses came over to check on Percy while Nico went to talk to Hades. Poseidon allowed his guard to drop just as everyone else did the same.

"Why is everyone coming here?" Percy frowned, turning to look at Poseidon. "I thought you said you guys were the only ones that knew where I was."

"The gods are gathering to attack Camp Half-Blood," Hades informed him just as Apollo's twin sister and Hermes appeared. "They're planning on taking down anywhere that could possibly be housing you. Apollo told us about the meeting on Olympus."

"I was told to act as a spy since I can travel between everywhere important as long as there is a hearth," Hestia reassured him. "I've been hopping around here, the Underworld, Camp Half-Blood, and Olympus since Apollo told me where I could find you. You've been nothing but kind to the three of us, so we wanted to do something good for you. Since we knew about everything going down at camp, we figured we would warn your friends."

There was a look of alarm on Percy's face a few seconds later. While he was obviously worried about his friends at both camps, he was also worried about his mortal family. The group gathered watched a panicked look appear on his face, and he turned to face his father. He silently pleaded with him to get his parents and baby sister to safety. Luckily, he seemed to understand. The god quickly disappeared in a flash of sea water.

While Poseidon was gone, Percy turned back to Hades and waited for more of an explanation. While they were trying to find him, they were also searching for Apollo. He had run, but Apollo had helped him get away. 

"I can't believe the gods want me dead that much," Percy said weakly.

"We're just as surprised as you are," Artemis sighed. "We already told Chiron about the attacks. but it's hard to tell the campers when my father is watching our every move. He thinks we're going to thwart his plans. I suppose that's exactly what we're trying to do, but we don't need him to know that." 

Percy gave a slow nod before glancing at Nico. He was starting to realize why Nico was suddenly so against the majority of Olympus. They were going to do everything in their power to ensure that Percy would die before he betrayed them. He didn't want to prove them right, but he wasn't going to let them attack his second and third homes. He hadn't been there as long as some people had, but he had grown to love both camps, and he would do everything in his power to protect the people inside them. 

"We have to defend Camp Half-Blood, and we need to make sure the gods don't do anything to Camp Jupiter, either. Frank and Hazel, I want you to go back to Camp Jupiter and warn Reyna of a possible attack. The rest of us will return to Camp Half-Blood and prepare them to fight the gods."

The look on everyone's face showed them that Percy's sudden change of attitude had only come with the threat, but they were happy that he was finally seeing where they were coming from. If Percy wanted to live, he had to take out the people trying to take him down. In the demigod world, survival of the fittest tended to be a very popular concept. Percy knew how to fight, and he'd almost killed a goddess before. If he really wanted to, he could easily take them down.

"Percy, you need to stay here. If they find you at Camp, they will try to kill you there," Hermes said worriedly.

"Hermes is right, Perseus," Artemis agreed, shutting him up before he could even begin to argue. "We can take care of the fighting. Okay?"

When Percy said they needed to defend Camp Half-Blood, he meant himself, too. He was going to do everything he could to protect his friends. The others weren’t going to keep him away from this fight as long as people were in danger. As he started towards Nico, Poseidon suddenly reappeared with his parents. He hesitated, turned back towards them, and decided to run towards them in order to give them a massive hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Percy..." Sally whispered into the top of his head. 

"We've been so worried about you, young man," Paul tried to make it sound like he was scolding Percy, but it came out weak and worried.

Percy gave a small smile and made sure they were both in his embrace, making sure the baby in his stepdad's arms wasn't being squished by any of them. He enjoyed their hold for a few more minutes before slowly pulling away. He was about to piss off all the adults around him.

"Nico, take me to Camp Half-Blood, please," he said commandingly. "We have a camp to protect."


	3. Chapter 2

Percy watched Poseidon and the other gods reach out for him just as Nico shadow travelled him and the other demigods away from the island. The son of the sea god quickly rushed to his cabin to grab his armor and anything else he might need for a battle while the others took Nico to the infirmary. It was probably stupid to have the son of Hades take so many people back to camp, but the gods hadn't told him  _ when  _ the battle would occur. He just knew he needed to keep his camp family safe. 

As soon as he was prepared to fight, he quickly hurried towards the big house to let Chiron know he was inside the camp. He hoped Hazel and Frank had been able to convince Hades or one of the other gods to take them to Camp Jupiter, but he figured the gods were more likely to go here first since he was actually inside this camp. He just hoped he had enough time to prepare the other campers for some kind of fight. 

As soon as Chiron saw the son of Poseidon, he instantly felt a wave for relief wash over him. He hadn't been worried about the safety of his student, but he had been concerned when he heard Zeus had initiated a vote to kill him. He quickly removed the distance between the two of them and brought his mentee into a hug. 

"I am so glad you're okay, my boy," Chiron said sincerely. "You shouldn't have come back, though. It isn't safe for you here."

"I know," Percy said honestly. "I wasn't going to let the gods kill off campers when they haven't done anything wrong. If Zeus is trying to find me, I'll make sure he does it on my terms and doesn't take any innocent lives."

The son of Poseidon looked up as the sound of thunder entered the sky. He tried to move himself around the centaur, but Chiron was too worried about him to let him pass. With a frustrated grunt, he started trying harder.

"Percy, you cannot let yourself get hurt because you decided to protect us," Chiron frowned. 

"I'll be fine."

Chiron had watched Luke Castellan become rather bitter over the years of attending Camp Half-Blood, and he didn't have to look hard to see the same bitterness rising in Percy. The way he said it made Chiron realize that, yes, he would be fine, but the gods that chose to fight him would not be. He took a step back, letting himself remain quiet instead of trying to argue with him. He had a feeling Percy would not be happy if he did something to hinder him from being this camp's protector.

He startled a little as Percy forcefully pushed past him, but he couldn't do anything to stop him. The son of Poseidon was determined to protect his friends. He watched as Percy ran out of the big house.

When Percy made it outside, the gods that wanted him dead were already making their way towards the wall of campers that had gathered. Percy wasn't worried about himself. He was worried about protecting those around him. He stepped in front of them, glaring directly at Zeus.

"I won't let you hurt them just because you want me," he practically growled.

"I don't want to hurt them, Perseus," Zeus rolled his eyes. "We voted to kill you and you  _ ran.  _ We're here to hurt  _ you _ ."

As the god raised his hand to electrocute him, he watched Percy's hands raise, too. He had no idea what Percy planned on doing, but the look in his girlfriend’s face showed him that she probably had an idea. She rushed forward and tried to pull him.

"You promised you would never do that again," she whispered into his ear. 

The son of Poseidon was about to argue, but he didn't get the chance. A blast of lightning started to fall from the sky, and Nico sprinted towards him. Percy had no idea when he'd been released from the infirmary, but he didn't have a chance to think about it. He disappeared into the shadows.

When they landed back on Delphi, he immediately looked around for Annabeth. It took him a second to see the look of absolute horror on Nico's face, and the son of Poseidon knew exactly why he looked so upset. Annabeth hadn't had a good enough hold on Percy when they'd shadow traveled. The daughter of Athena was still at Camp Half-Blood. Unless she had magically managed to run away from the lightning, she had been struck instead of him, and she was dead.

"How could you!" Percy screamed at the son of Hades. "You have to take me back!" 

The son of Hades still looked guilty, but Percy couldn't make himself feel bad for the guy. He had allowed his girlfriend to get hurt. Had Nico been paying attention, he would have noticed that Annabeth hadn't been in his hold.

"You heard Zeus," he said shakily. "He doesn't want to kill Annabeth. If the lightning did manage to hit her, he probably wouldn't go in for a finishing blow. Will is still at Camp Half-Blood, too, so they probably took her to the infirmary to heal her, okay?" 

Nico didn't hear a response since Percy chose to stomp away from the kid before he could kill him for letting Annabeth get hurt. It wasn't like him to be this angry with his friends, but they were so set on saving him that they weren't thinking about everyone else. Percy wouldn't doubt that the gods that wanted him dead would try to get to him by hurting anyone he cared about. 

The sound of yelling suddenly caught his attention, and he turned in the direction of the confrontation. With some surprise, he noticed Will arguing with Nico and a group of people surrounding a head of blonde hair. Annabeth! 

Percy sprinted over to them and shoved everyone out of the way. Apollo stepped up on the other side of her at the same time. He was starting to be really thankful that the god of medicine was here - and with his powers. If he was human or with the gods, there was no doubt the small group of gathered demigods wouldn't survive for very long. Their only real help would be Will, and his powers were only so strong. He would end up dying while he overused his powers before the fighting was even close to finishing. 

As he looked at the god of the sun, he started to realize just how angry Apollo was starting to look. He knew he was done with his father's shit, but this seemed to be the step over the edge. He healed the daughter of Athena before getting up and suddenly disappearing. 

"Where is he going...?" the sound of Annabeth's voice made Percy's head snap down towards the ground. 

"Annabeth, you're okay!" he let out a relieved laugh as he reached for her and gave her a tight hug. "Oh, gods, Nico shadow travelled us back here, and I was so worried when I realized that you hadn't made it back!"

She slowly moved to sit up, letting out a little groan as she did, but for the most part, she was okay. She had been struck by lightning, for gods’ sakes. It would take her a bit to fully recover, even with the help of a god. 

"I'm fine," she gently leaned against his shoulder. "Apollo might not be if he doesn't get back here soon, though. Where did he disappear to?"

Percy seemed to finally process that the god had left the island, and he looked around with a slight frown. That was a good question.... Why had the god left? He could have at least brought backup. If Zeus decided Apollo was going to get his ass handed to him, he would need it! There were people in this group that had fought Titans and giants before. 

"I have no idea," Percy sighed honestly. "I hope he'll be fine."

Annabeth gave the smallest nod before moving to look at her boyfriend. Was this the right time to remind him of the promise he'd made to her in Tartarus? She had mentioned it during his little squabble with Zeus, but he was acting like... a monster. She doubted that he'd really been paying attention to her when she'd called him out. 

"Percy," she finally decided to bring it up.

"Yes, Wise Girl?" 

"Do you remember what I said when you were fighting with Zeus at Camp Half-Blood?"

He stared at her blankly, showing that her suspicion had been correct. With a sigh, Annabeth pulled away and used her hands to steady herself. With a deep breath, she turned to look at Percy.

"You promised me that you would never use your powers like that ever again, Seaweed Brain," she whispered quietly.

The look of guilt that passed his face let Annabeth know that he probably hadn't even been thinking about it when he'd done it. She didn't think that that was a very good thing. He was usually good about being mindful of how he used his powers. Percy was powerful, and he knew it. If someone had gotten in the way, he could have really hurt someone. Had Percy been doing something other than protecting his friends, he probably would not have done something as drastic as stopping the ichor from flowing in the gods veins. 

"I know I've already said this before and broke the promise," he said quietly. "but I won't do it again. I'm sorry, Annabeth. I wasn't thinking about it. I was too worried about you and the others." 

"I know, Percy," she sighed. "Just please, mean your promise this time."

The son of Poseidon gave a short little nod before opening his arms for a hug. After a moment, Annabeth let herself be pulled into his arms. The two of them sat there and hugged one another in silence for a while. 

A flash of bright light interrupted them, and the two of them moved to turn around to look at Apollo. He'd returned with Hades, Persephone, and Hestia, and the four of them were looking a little troubled. Percy furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's going on?" he asked curiously.

"The gods can tell there's a rebellion of some kind happening," Hestia sighed. "When Zeus had originally gotten there to search for you, the demigods were in the middle of planning something. They're starting to plan their own battle strategy. I can't tell exactly what's going on because they're trying their best to keep the plan a secret. They don’t want any of the gods to know since it could backfire. It might be time for you to start planning, too."


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have seen my updating schedule on my profile, you would know this is coming out a day earlier than planned (because I am incredibly impatient, as I stated at the bottom).

"I guess we should have seen this coming," Annabeth sighed. "What do you want to do, Percy?"

Somehow, Nico hadn't realized that Annabeth was fine because he suddenly forced himself out of Will's hold and sprinted over to her and Percy. He knelt down beside the two of them before quietly checking to see if she was alright. He opened his mouth to say something, but Percy cut him off. 

"Do you think you're well enough to help us plan, Wise Girl?" he asked softly. "I don't want to rush you into anything. You were literally just struck by lightning."

She gave a short nod before moving to stand, motioning for the rest of the group to follow her into the small shelter Apollo and Artemis had set up on the island when they'd been 'vacationing' there during the Giant War. There was a small table set up in the middle of the room. She made her way over to the head of the table and took a seat. As soon as everyone was inside, including the four gods, she began to speak. 

"The first thing we need to do is figure out what we already know," she said matter of factly. "The Olympians are obviously trying to kill Percy. They're scared he'll rebel against them. Since he's powerful, they know he could easily beat them."

"The last thing I want to do is fight them," Percy admitted as soon as she looked at him. "I was taught that I was to be on their side since I was twelve, and there are still friends of ours that don't know what's going on. They're going to be on the gods’ side until we can tell them. Luckily for us, the gods on our side are more pleasant than the ones wanting to kill me, so the gods aren't necessarily the reason I'm so hesitant to fight."

"We'll take care of our friends," Nico said. "Hazel and Frank are telling Reyna about your situation, and she'll pass it on to everyone else. There are a lot of people that are done with the gods' bullshit, too, and this will be the final push for a lot of people. Unfortunately for Zeus, Luke... was on to something when he tried to overthrow the gods. It was a long time coming."

The entire group glanced at Nico with the slightest bit of surprise on their face. They'd been listening to Nico preach this new war on the gods more than the rest of them had, but that didn't make his statement any less surprising. He wasn't usually one to be vocal about any kind of hatred towards their parents, but it was obvious this was something he was ready for. 

"Nico, don't get yourself killed because you decided to let your fatal flaw get in the way of your judgement," Percy murmured. "That goes for the rest of you, too. I'm making this a rule - you aren't allowed to get yourself killed. Do you understand me?"

There was a serious look on his face as he stared everyone down. They knew how many friends he'd lost over the years. They'd all lost the same friends, too. The last thing they wanted to do was watch more of their friends die. 

That was honestly the most obvious risk when it came to forming a rebellion against the gods. Yes, they were going up against people that weren't used to fighting, but they were still more powerful than their half mortal children. The demigods knew that. After all of the things they'd been through, though, they weren't worried about it. It definitely helped that they had four gods on their side. 

Apollo was absolutely done with his father's bullshit. He'd been through too much as a mortal, and his father had made other stupid decisions over the many years of his rule. Hades and Persephone hardly had much to lose. There weren't many people that would willingly rule the Underworld. Yes, Thanatos might enjoy running something for a while, but that didn't mean he was equipped to run the entire Underworld by himself. He was already incredibly busy with his other tasks. Persephone would have more issues with her mother than anything, but she was willing to stay somewhere else during the Spring and Summer. For the most part, she stayed in the Underworld, anyways. Hestia was more than willing to hide out the hearth of Camp Half-Blood, too. The demigods that spoke to her were always warmer than the majority of the Olympians. 

The situation with Hermes was a bit trickier. There were others that could do Apollo's job - they had been for a while Apollo was mortal - but it was a little harder for the others to get away. Hermes couldn't even bring them a message without looking suspicious. If the god of messengers brought a message to them from one of the Olympians, Zeus would force Hermes to tell him their location. Poseidon was on Olympus a significant deal, but he also spent a lot of time in the ocean. He could sneak onto the island when he was supposed to be ruling his own kingdom. Artemis spent a lot of time with her huntresses. They might get suspicious, but she could tell Thalia everything that was going on. Her lieutenant could encourage her fellow huntresses that Artemis was fine. 

"As long as I'm here, there won't be any deaths from any of you," Apollo and Will piped up, in sync, from their spots at the table, breaking the tension a little as everyone chuckled. 

The god and his son smiled a little at one another before returning their attention to the amused group. Since Apollo had lived with Will and his other children, he'd gotten the chance to get to know them, and he and Will had gotten kind of close. Will was one of his brightest children, especially when it came to medicine and healing. Apollo wondered if he could get away with bringing Kayla and Austin to camp, too. 

His thought was interrupted by the god of the dead nudging him on the shoulder. He looked up at him before turning to look at an unimpressed Annabeth Chase. Despite being a god, he knew better than to get in that girl’s way. He shifted a little in his seat and made a stronger effort to pay attention. He could see his son doing the same thing as Nico gave him a look. He couldn't help but let another small smile play on his lips. Like father, like son. Whether that was directed at Nico and his father or him and Will, he didn't know.

"I'm going to figure out how to contact my sister," Apollo supplied to the conversation when he noticed no one talking. She can reassure Thalia and the other huntresses that have taken a liking to you, Percy." 

"Do you think that Zeus would be watching Iris Messages at all?" Percy asked curiously.

"He might be," Apollo shrugged. "I don't know if he would necessarily track where they were coming from, but he might ask Iris to do it for him."

Percy gave a quiet hum before looking around the small group. He was trying to think if there were any ways that they could safely get messages out to everyone. They would need to be able to if they were going to contact Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter with plans they came up with. It would also make it possible for everyone to contact their mortal parents if they wanted to. Percy knew he would want to reassure his mother and Paul that he was still alive every so often.

"I can get messages to the camps," Hestia said softly. "I'm hardly worried about jumping around the camps. They're less likely to follow me around as long as I stop by Olympus every so often. I'm hardly there anyways considering I can live in any hearth in the world." 

The whole group gave a thankful nod as they looked at the small goddess. She really was absolutely amazing. She was going to be a very helpful addition to their team considering they couldn't really trust Iris to keep their location a secret and Hermes was about to be on lockdown. If he wasn't on lockdown, he would definitely be limited as to where he could go and who he could deliver messages to. If not, Zeus could trick him into taking letters to people on the island, and their whole situation would be compromised. That would not be good.

"Thank you, Hestia," Annabeth gave a small smile.

"I might be able to help in the fighting department," Hades said slowly. "I would need to speak with Thanatos about it, though.”

"What are you talking about?" Nico asked slowly. 

"I... technically have the ability to bring heroes back to life," Hades shrugged as if it weren't the most scandalous thing he could have offered. "There are a lot of heroes in Elysium that already dislike the gods, and there are others that really like Percy, so there would definitely be a number of people that would help you fight if it truly came down to it."

"Would you really be willing to do that?" Percy asked with furrowed eyebrows. "I wouldn't want to get you in more trouble than you would already be in for helping me."

"Like I said, I will have to talk to Thanatos about it, but I'm just as done with Zeus as Apollo is. I have been considered an outcast for years, and he has been an enabler for the mistreatment of every demigod that stepped foot in Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. I know I haven't been the best parent, either, but I do try every once in a while. I'm the only member of the big three that hasn't broken our oath to not sire children, too. Zeus just continues to break rules."

Percy could tell he was saying these things with the intention that Poseidon was implied, but he never said his name which told him that Hades was more than aware that the god of the sea was definitely on their side. If he had really wanted throw Poseidon under the bus, he would have tried a little harder. He would have included him in his callout of their brother. 

"Thank you, Father," Nico said with a small smile. "Your help is appreciated."

The god of the dead gave a short nod, and before anyone could say anything, him and Persephone disappeared. The entire group turned to look at Annabeth. If they could pull this off and get the others, they'd have an even better chance at getting them to rethink their life choice. It was time to include them in their plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't already, don't forget to check out my profile! It has some of my social media pages, my writing schedule, and my updating schedule! It also has some works that I'm working on alongside this one. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Chapter 4

The sound of loud talking brought their planning meeting to a close. Annabeth looked up with a slightly annoyed expression as she tried to figure out why the hell anyone would think screaming on a secluded island was even worth it. Of course, the moment she thought about that made her realize that they were (supposed to be) the only people there. The group of them made quick eye contact with one another and made their way towards the source of the noise.

Despite having some kind of warning that this might happen, the entire group was in shock when they saw their old friends - and enemies - sitting in a circle, arguing. There was a clear divide between the majority with half of them standing on one side and the other group about a foot on the other. If they didn't know these people, they would be curious as to why they were fighting, but they all knew exactly what was going on.

Luke Castellan stood on one side with Silena, Ethan, and Alabaster, while Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew stood next to an annoyed looking Beckendorf. These people had fought one another - had died because of the others - and now they were suddenly standing on a secluded island because of a god. Percy wondered if they knew they were alive, or if they were simply choosing to ignore the fact in favor of yelling at one another. 

"Guys!" Percy called out. "We can argue later. How about we discuss why Hades brought you here?"

The sound of Percy's voice seemed to snap the entire group out of their arguing because they all quickly turned to look at him. There was a moment of silence as they all took in the teenager. He knew he looked different since the majority of them had seen him, so he didn't mind much. It had been quite a while since everything had happened.

"You've... really grown up, kid," Luke said quietly. 

"You haven't aged a day," Percy retorted. "This isn't as many people as I was expecting. Do you know where the others are?" 

"Hades is getting them," Luke said slowly. "What's going on? Where are we? Why is  _ he  _ here?"

The entire group glanced over and followed his gaze, trying to figure out exactly who the traitor was looking at. It took them a second to realize he was looking at the god. Apollo sighed before starting to fill him in about his situation before he turned to Percy. Percy took a deep breath and did the same, explaining to Luke and the rest of the gathered demigods that Zeus had initiated a vote to kill. 

There was a look of annoyance on Luke's face, and Percy wondered what it was about. Of course, the demigod had betrayed the gods once, so maybe he was just done with their shit all over again? Though, the annoyed look quickly turned into a sigh of disappointment and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Jackson," he said quietly. "I can't betray the gods again. I already did that once, and I nearly ruined my life once. It literally caused me to die."

Percy had definitely been worried about getting that answer from him, and he was about to promise him that it was fine, but Apollo flipped. The group hadn't been expecting that kind of reaction from the god, so they all turned to look at him with shocked expressions. Apollo wasn't fazed, though.

"You were right the entire time!" Apollo screamed. "The gods are trash! We have to take care of my father before he kills anymore innocent people. He let me rot as a human for months, and now he's trying to kill the person that has saved their asses more than once. You have to see that you were doing something  _ good _ when you first betrayed us. There are still a couple of us that haven't done much to deserve your hatred, but the rest of them? They can go to Tartarus and rot there!"

There was a bright flash of light, and the entire gathered group quickly turned as they realized that the god was going into his true form. There was something seriously wrong with the god, at the moment, and it was obvious to everyone that they shouldn't get in his way. Eventually the light faded, and as everyone turned back around, they heard a very loud boom of thunder. 

"What did you do...?" Will asked his father slowly. 

"Olympus is now in the middle of an outbreak..." Apollo grunted. "Don't worry, Poseidon, Hestia, Artemis, and Hermes are unaffected. Hades and Persephone are, too. It's every other fucking Olympian that decided to kill the only person that has kept them in power all these fucking years." 

With that, he stormed off, leaving all of the demigods to stare at one another. Will bit his lip, and he would have followed his father if not for Nico standing at his side. The son of Hades was telling him to let his dad cool down before going to see him. There was obviously something going on with him if he had decided to do something so drastic. 

"I wonder what he gave them," Piper said quietly, glancing off into the distance. 

She didn't necessarily look worried, but it was pretty obvious to everyone that she was thinking about her mother. There were a few other demigods, like Annabeth, that had the same expression. Over the years, they had realized their parents couldn't necessarily handle things on their own, but no one wanted to help them all over again. This entire situation could be interesting...

***

Meanwhile, on Olympus, Zeus let out another angry rumble of thunder as he felt himself suddenly grow sick. He was a god! This should not be happening! The only explanation he could come up with was that his son had done something to them. He was still missing, and they couldn't find them or the demigods that had run from them during their visit to Camp Half-Blood. They were only there for Percy. Had he just stayed put and allowed them to kill him, his friends wouldn't have been in danger!

Of course, that stupid son of Hades had appeared and taken Percy away. He almost got the chance to kill Percy, but no, he'd been protected by his stupid friends. Instead, he hit Annabeth. The girl would have been fine if not for Nico. He wondered how Percy took the death of his girlfriend. A malicious smile appeared on his face, but it was quickly interrupted by a cough. 

He looked around the room at the other Olympians. The majority of them looked just as awful, but when he looked close enough, he realized that there were still some people that looked perfectly fine, Poseidon, Artemis, and Hermes... only people that had tried to keep Percy alive. That was exactly how he realized that it had definitely been Apollo that had done this to him. That boy would  _ die  _ the second they saw him again. He could not believe he would do something so bad. 

He didn't understand why there were so many people mad at him for this. It had been justified! Percy was the most powerful demigod, besides his daughter, and there was no way he could possibly let him live. There would come a day when he would betray them all just like Luke Castellan did. They didn't need another Kronos walking around. Now, Percy was walking around with a murderous god, and his prediction had been correct! He was going to try and kill them all! 

"Zeus, do you have any idea what we're going to do with that son of yours?" Hera asked with an eyeroll, trying to keep herself awake as exhaustion crept over her. They had been sick for only a few minutes, yet it was rapidly getting worse. It felt like it was, at least. 

"I have no idea," Zeus grumbled. "I am going to kill him the second he steps foot back on Olympus. We have all of his instruments. He'll want them eventually. There are also a ton of medical supplies a rebellion could use. If he doesn't have those, they won't make it far."

Poseidon shook his head at his brother before standing up and making his way over to the exit. He was so done with the god's shit. They didn't need to be this excessive with everything. Percy wouldn't have worked with the other god if not for this exact situation. He would still be with his mother, and he would be helping lead Camp Half-Blood, and he would be doing great things. There was no way his brother would listen to that kind of reasoning, though. He would continue listening to himself rather than the people that knew Percy better than this. Before, Zeus could stop him, he left the throne room and disappeared.

***

"Apollo, what have you done?" the god sighed, dropping down in front of his nephew. 

"Uncle P!" Apollo said, shocked by his appearance. "What are you doing here? Zeus will figure out where we are!"

"He's more focused on getting revenge on you for making the majority of the Olympians sick, I think," Poseidon chuckled. "It'll be okay. I really doubt you'll be caught. He can hardly get out of his throne."

Apollo smiled sheepishly, though he really didn't look sorry. He probably had overreacted, but he didn't honestly care. Zeus had overreacted earlier in the year by making him mortal!

"Yeah, I could have handled that better," he chuckled a little. "Castellan just made me mad."

Poseidon froze. "I'm sorry. What?" 

He motioned for his uncle to follow him. The god of the sea followed behind him slowly, but he was incredibly wary about the entire situation. Why was Luke here? He was supposed to be dead. He froze for a moment... they were  _ all  _ supposed to be dead.

"How did they get here?" he asked slowly, and the others realized that they were going to get this reaction from everyone they encountered. 

"Hades brought them back," Annabeth explained. "He wants us to have strong fighters just in case we end up making this a war. Percy doesn't want to, and the traitors are backing Luke, who would rather stay neutral than fight the gods again. They're worried that they'll get a worse fate than they had before."

Poseidon hummed a little before taking another look around the small group gathered. This would take some getting used to. He was standing in the middle of a very divided group of people. Unfortunately, that would obviously be the same thing no matter where he went. Olympus would be extra bad right now, too. Had the group of gods not decided Percy was sentenced to death, he might have had less problems with everything going on. It was time to make a decision as to where the heck he was going to stay.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally forgot to post the update last week, so I'll be sharing two chapters with y'all today!

As the rest of the dead demigods arrived at their makeshift camp, Percy had decided to sit at the edge of the ocean. His father had originally chosen to follow him, but he had long since left his son be. The child of Poseidon looked like he desperately needed a second to himself. To be honest, that was exactly what he needed, but Luke didn't seem to get the hint.

The son of Hermes sat down beside Percy, giving him a side eye. At first, he stayed quiet. Percy wondered if he was doing this to make him uncomfortable, or if he really didn't know what to say. He supposed either idea was possible. The sound of a quiet sigh forced Percy to actually make eye contact with him.

"Do you really want to betray the gods?" Luke asked quietly. 

"I don't think so," Percy admitted weakly. "Annabeth and the others keep planning  _ my _ revenge. I don't want revenge. Yeah, they ended up attacking Camp Half-Blood, but they were looking for me. Plus, if we try to kill off the gods, that'll just end our parents, too. Poseidon and Hermes, for example, aren't the ones trying to kill me. They voted to keep me alive."

"Were they the only ones?" 

"Artemis did, too. Apollo is the most upset about the whole situation, though. He voted to keep me alive, and the second Zeus raised his arms to kill me, Apollo got out of his throne and brought me here." 

"If you don't want to, I don't think you should have to. I learned my lesson," Luke sighed. "This entire situation is dumb, and we shouldn't be planning another uprising, but... if you think about it, they voted to kill  _ you _ . You're their biggest hero. You're literally the Savior of Olympus. You hardly deserve to be killed just because you're powerful. If Zeus was holding these standards to everyone else, he would try to kill Thalia, too." 

Percy let out a soft sigh. He knew that, of course, but there were still gods that had a home on Olympus that didn't deserve to die. When the others planned the new downfall of Olympus, it felt like they weren't considering them. If they did manage to dethrone Zeus or their other godly family members, would the others still get to stay there? Would they still have their thrones?

"It feels like I don't have a choice," Percy sighed. "The majority of the people on this island are fighting for another rebellion. Nico is the worst. He's so upset because I was almost killed, and I get it, but I don't think there should be an uprising. You know?" 

"When I first betrayed the gods, I had Kronos manipulating me," Luke leaned back a little. "He took advantage of the fact that Hermes wasn't around, and he whispered ideas into my head. This feels like the same thing, but... at the same time, you were almost killed. The gods that voted for you didn't care that you'd protected them from me and the other deities during both wars. In the end it's up to you. You just have to consider that your fatal flaw is personal loyalty. Annabeth and Nico are just trying to protect you, I think." 

The sound of footsteps in the sand behind them made both boys turn around, and they found themselves glancing up at Nico and Annabeth. Percy sighed a little. There didn't seem to be a single person besides Poseidon that realized he needed some space. There were a lot of decisions he had to make, and they were life threatening decisions, too. When there was a whole crowd of people surrounding him the entire time they were on this island, it was super difficult to just think about all of his options.

"I really hope you're talking some sense into him," Nico looked at Luke, and for the first time since the traitors had been brought back by Hades, Nico looked like he actually trusted the guy. "He fought with us at Camp Half-Blood, but he's returned to moping around like he doesn't want to take care of Zeus and his dumb subjects."

"It's all up to him," Luke shrugged. "I was dragged into this mess. I'm not going to force Percy to follow something I want or do not want to do. I tried that once, remember? It didn't work."

Annabeth sighed and sat next to Percy, gently pulling him close. The two of them laid there in silence for a moment while Nico tried to figure out what to say. He didn't get the chance to get anything out, though, because Poseidon came up behind them and placed a hand on Percy's shoulder.

"I think it's time for Percy to get to bed," he said in a fatherly tone. "He's had a long day, and he needs a second to think about everything happening. I'm sure the last thing he wants is to be manipulated by his friends and girlfriend." 

Annabeth and Nico narrowed their eyes a little at the god, but Percy looked grateful as he pulled away from the blonde girl beside him. He used his father's hand for support as he stood up. With a small wave towards the three people sitting there, he followed his dad to the hut sitting near the beach. 

"Thanks," Percy sighed. 

"You looked like you were getting tired," Poseidon chuckled. "I figured I'd save you from them. You really should get some rest."

"Like you said," Percy started. "I need a second to think about everything. This'll be the first time I've had more than a few minutes to myself. I have heard many point of views in the last twelve hours. I want to know where I stand on this..."

Poseidon gave him an apologetic smile before disappearing, a faint scent of ocean breeze lingering behind. He took that as his cue to step inside. There were a number of beds, courtesy of Apollo. He was trying really hard to make everyone comfortable while they hid from his father, but there was only so much the guy could do. He was hardly a builder like Hephaestus was, and after he hadn't voted for Percy to stay alive, there was no way Apollo would allow him to come here to build anymore shelter for everyone. He would have to rely on Leo and Charles' building skills. 

Percy wondered how that would go. The two children of Hephaestus had never met before, though Leo had surely heard stories about his heroic brother. Percy honestly wouldn't have been surprised if Leo's building skills were compared to the other guy's. They both were incredibly talented when it came to tinkering. 

There were others, of course, that he had been interested in seeing their interactions had they ever randomly gotten to meet the others. He had expected it to happen while they were ghosts, though, not back from the dead before a war. With that thought, Percy plopped down on an unclaimed bed and buried his face in his hands. Why did this have to happen to him? 

There were so many people that wanted him to betray the gods like Luke had done just a few years ago. The only thing he wanted to do was to stop fighting. He'd been able to ignore the last quarrel with Apollo and everyone helping him, but this seemed a lot harder to avoid. He was the main reason everyone wanted to fight, and there were so many people telling him what to do. 

He knew there was no way he could possibly choose the middle ground. It would mean letting Zeus kill him, and there were too many people that would burn Olympus to the ground. It would defeat the purpose of just giving up and letting Zeus do as he pleased. There was that aspect, too. He didn't want to let Zeus get away with this. Percy would have to fight the gods to show them their actions were wrong. There was another problem with that, though. He had been fighting for them since he was twelve. It went against his nature to fight against them when he had forced himself to be loyal to them. It was the main reason he felt so helpless when making this decision. 

Percy let out a deep sigh and slowly lifted up his head, this time placing it back against the wall. Luke was right. His loyalty would be the death of him. It was such a stupid fatal flaw. It felt like he would die, no matter what he chose.

The sound of the door opening and closing made him audibly groan, but he didn't care. This had been his only moment to really think about what was going on, and now there was someone else in here that would just distract him. He turned to give the intruder a weak glare. He was met with the same glare from Artemis, just as halfhearted.

"O-Oh!" he said, sitting up a little straighter. "Lady Artemis? What are you doing here?" 

She waved him off, and he started to wonder if this morning's incidents were the reason she was being so nice. He figured it was. She was usually cordial with him, but this seemed off, different. He let his posture slip and he hit his head against the wall once more.

"I won't bother you for long, Perseus," she promised. "I just wanted to check on you. Today has been incredibly stressful for a lot of us."

"You can say that again," Percy huffed out a harsh laugh. "I've been better, but I've also been worse." 

She gave him a small nod, completely understanding exactly what he meant by that. This wasn't going to be his easiest life moment, but this wasn't anything like Tartarus. This was just a stupid situation that Percy had ended up in. He sighed a little again and looked at the goddess.

"What?"

"What should I do?" he asked quietly. "Can I just accept mortality? I wouldn't mind being mortal! I would love to be able to have a normal life without powers or monster attacks. The only thing that's been worth it this whole time is the friendships I've made. There are still a good chunk of those that are fake, though. Luke, Silena... none of this would have happened if my father wasn't Poseidon..."

"My father is determined to see you dead," the goddess sighed. "If he had considered that possibility, that would have been the proposal at this morning's meeting. Unfortunately, he decided that death was the only possible option, and you're having to pay the price for it. Your dad would have likely suggested that had Zeus communicated the meeting with us beforehand, but he kept us out of the dark. He knew we would vote for your life rather than your murder before we voted for anything else."

"I guess you're right." 

"Of course I am," she teased, giving him a reassuring smile. "We'll protect you for as long as we can, Perseus. If there's anything you need, let us know. I'll be sending Thalia your way, and if we can find him on our hunt, we'll get Grover to stop by, too. Okay?"

She didn't leave until she saw the small nod and the thankful smile from the teenager. She felt bad. This was the last thing he should be going through, yet he was. If she had any say in the matter, her father would have been killed the second he opened his mouth with the awful suggestion. Percy had saved their lives more than once. The protection of the gods and goddesses that did care about him was the  _ least  _ he deserved. Artemis was going to make sure he got it, no matter how he decided to align himself.


	7. Chapter 6

It wasn't long after that that Percy had chosen to go to bed. Artemis had not been kidding. It truly had been a stressful day for everyone, and he just really needed sleep. It felt like the meeting had happened days ago, and it felt like he had left his parents’ house a few weeks before that. There had been so much happening throughout the day, and he just needed sleep.

He was half asleep when the others slowly started trickling into the cabin. He could hear Will and Nico arguing about the son of Hades' constant shadow traveling throughout the day, and he wondered if they had even noticed he was trying to get some rest. He felt like he was in that half state where he couldn't force his eyes open, so he just laid there and listened until someone else entered the cabin.

He knew it was Annabeth the second the door opened and closed. She was careful, just in case anyone was sleeping, and her dainty footsteps quietly made their way towards Percy's bed. He felt the bed dip near his waist, and a hand in his hair a second later. 

"Are you awake, Seaweed Brain?" she asked softly, and it was obvious she was trying not to be too loud just in case he wasn't.

He made a small grunting noise of acknowledgement, but he was already too far gone to really wake up. She gave a small laugh and planted a kiss on his forehead. The hand in his hair didn't cease. He listened to Annabeth's soothing voice as she continued to play with his hair, and he fell asleep before anyone else could enter the building. 

***

The sound of screaming near the front door woke everyone up - except the person screaming. Will was the first to react since he was used to his younger siblings waking up in the middle of the night. Plus, he worked in the infirmary. There were numerous times when someone would wake him up with a stomach ache or an infected injury that 'hurt so bad they could barely stand it.' It had made him a light sleeper, just in case there were real emergencies. This felt different, though.

Whomever it was, they sounded terrified. This wasn’t a scream of pain. It was full of fear. Will, along with everyone else, looked extremely concerned. Annabeth was the first person to act since the person freaking out was the person sleeping in the same bed as her. 

"Percy, you have to wake up," the daughter of Athena whispered softly. "I know what you're dreaming about, but we're not there anymore. We're on Apollo's island. You're with a lot of your friends." 

The rest of the seven, as well as Nico, had seen Percy like this before. They'd seen Annabeth in Percy's shoes, too, but in this moment, there were more people that  _ didn't  _ know that Percy and Annabeth had been to Tartarus. This nightmare was new to them and the people that already knew exactly what this nightmare was about simply because of Annabeth’s words.

"What's going on? Who was that?" Luke grumbled, finally sitting up. "I haven't heard someone scream that loud since I lived in the Hermes Cabin. That scream usually comes from someone that just arrived at Camp Half-Blood for the first time."

"That... was Percy," Nico sighed softly, a knowing look on his face as he leaned against Will a little. "You guys missed a lot while you were in Elysium." 

Nico knew that he'd been vague, but he knew Percy hated talking about the whole situation as much as he did. There were things they had had to do in order to survive, and there were a few of those things that they were hardly proud of. Nico didn't even know everything the two of them had gone through when they'd been to Tartarus, just like they didn't know much about his time there. 

"Annabeth," Percy's words came out weakly, and the entire group could tell he was gasping for breath. 

He was clearly still asleep, though. No matter how hard Annabeth tried to wake him, it all seemed to be completely in vain. His breaths were coming out in rapid huffs, and the expression on his face was pure worry and fear. 

"I'm right here, Seaweed Brain. I'm okay."

"Annabeth!" Percy quickly sat up as he screamed out his girlfriend's name.

Annabeth went up with him, wrapping him up in a tight hug. She whispered sweet nothings into his ear, giving his shoulder small, comforting kisses. She stayed that way until his breathing finally calmed out. 

"Is that better?" she whispered, concerned. "You had me worried there for a second. You weren't waking up."

He shrugged. He definitely wasn't okay, that was for sure. There were other things they needed to worry about, though. He was used to nightmares.

Luke slowly walked over, tilting his head at the two of them. He wanted answers, and if he tried hard enough, he figured he could get it. Percy glanced up at his old mentor and just shook his head. 

"I really don't want to talk about it," Percy sighed, burying his head into Annabeth's shoulder.

Nico made a knowing sound as he moved to lay back down. He was used to this. Despite not wanting to talk about it themselves, him and Annabeth had gotten help and constantly talked to someone about everything going on. Percy never did. 

"Let him sleep," Annabeth motioned for Luke to leave them be.

With some reluctance, Luke moved back to his bed. He had apparently missed a lot while he'd been dead. He knew there would be since it had been a couple years, but he didn't think Percy and Annabeth were two people to be super secretive about everything going on. He expected Percy to have nightmares and PTSD, but there was something different about this. 

*** 

The next morning, Percy looked absolutely exhausted. While the others had woken up to his screaming, they'd been able to fall back asleep. Percy had stayed up the rest of the night, too scared to close his eyes again. Annabeth had tried to stay up with him, but she'd passed out, eventually, too. The son of Poseidon had laid there with her in his arms the entire night. 

Annabeth wanted to convince Percy to take a nap, but she wasn't dumb. She knew that was unlikely to happen. While she knew the general topic of her dream, Tartarus, she didn't really know just how bad it had been. There were so many turns those kinds of dreams could take, and she didn't want to know if it was an exact memory, or a twisted version of it.

While she was trying to make sure Percy didn't fall over, she didn't notice the new group of gods suddenly appearing on the island. The usual few, Hades, Hestia, and Persephone, had already been there, but Hermes, Artemis, and Poseidon were all there. Percy did notice, though. He pulled away from Annabeth and quickly made his way over to them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked warily. "You're going to give away my location if you keep coming here."

The other demigods and Apollo gave Percy a confused look. At the moment, Percy didn't understand why, but he brushed it off in favor of staring his godly family down. Annabeth and Nico were the most confused about Percy's words since he hadn't been worried about it before. He was perfectly okay with the gods coming and going as they pleased. 

"Zeus is planning an attack on Camp Jupiter," Hestia sighed tiredly. "He's sick with whatever Apollo gave him, just like the other gods are, but he is going to visit the camp tomorrow at three. We figured we'd warn you. If he goes, there will be an outbreak unless Apollo makes everyone immune like we are." 

Apollo gave a short nod and disappeared, leaving the island in favor of quickly visiting the other demigod camp. He instantly regretted the decision. Zeus, looking very sickly, was already there. Athena and Ares had followed, and he looked pleased with how awful they looked. There were a few campers standing around them, and he tried to give them immunity, but Ares attacked Apollo before he could finish. 

Apollo quickly tried to dodge the attack, but he didn't quite make it far enough. The spear in his hand brushed against Apollo's side, allowing a cut to open. Ichor spilled from the wound. Apollo growled a little, but he made no other indication that that fucking hurt. He called out for Will and the other demigods on the island, needing their help. He didn't have any weapons. Even sick, Ares would always be stronger than him. As long as the other two gods were protected by him, Apollo was just going to be taken out. 

Percy could beat him, though, and he had before. He just hoped the others had gotten his message. The sound of yelling from the Roman demigods caught his attention, and he looked at them with a slight glare. 

"The two of you need to stop yelling. Stay put," he commanded. "The two of you are going to need to quarantine for a while."

"Quarantine...?" one of them asked, looking at Apollo warily. 

"Apollo made us sick," Zeus glared in his direction. "He's trying to kill us, and he's rallied a group of demigods together to help him." 

Apollo felt anger course through his veins again. His stupid father was twisting his actions. It was all Zeus' fault that he needed to go, not his. 

"There's going to be an outbreak if anymore demigods stop by. I was coming here to give you immunity, but they were already here."

"You really were trying to overthrow the other Olympians...?" they asked again, unsurely. 

Apollo chose not to answer that, and Zeus gave a knowing smirk. That smirk faded pretty quickly when all of the demigods from the island came. Percy stood between Apollo and the others, making the campers off to the side gasp. What was Percy doing  _ against  _ the gods?

He didn't answer their unspoken question, and Will, Lee, and Michael went over to the two campers and started to give him the immunity they needed. Apollo was thankful that he'd told them how to do that. It made his life a little easier... The three of them ran off to do the rest of the camp while the others prepared to fight. 

Since the three demigods had cleared the two of them to leave, they ran off to find someone. Apollo and Percy were quick to realize they were probably getting Hazel, Frank, or Reyna. They would need to tell their camp leaders that something was happening. He wondered how they would react to the news that they were working with Apollo and the others. 

"What's going on?" the two Praetors asked curiously as soon as they appeared. 

"Apollo and a ton of demigods, including Percy and Nico... they're fighting Mars, Minerva, and Jupiter," they gasped out, tired from running.

“We knew they were going to betray the gods,” Hazel and Frank sighed, looking at one another. “We are, too.” 


End file.
